Sahil Gupta, Kenzie Gordon and Sean Groten are three friends from university; Gordon and Groten are married. The trio, along with three others, are raising money to privately sponsor a couple from Syria.

“Personally I wanted to sponsor a family for a long time. We’re all young professionals. We just got out of school. We decided we were all now in a financial position where we’re able to do it,” said Gordon.

“We’re really committed to social justice and trying to make our community a better place. We thought this is something pretty simple we can do to really have an immediate impact on some people’s lives.”

The group submitted their application in September and it was accepted in November. Though there is no official timeline, they are hopeful the couple will arrive in the first few months of the new year.

Groten said friends and family have been chipping in to help make the transition easy for the couple, who are currently in Lebanon waiting to make their way to Edmonton.

“We found a place where the couple is going to live. People came and they donated couches. They donated furniture they didn’t need,” he said.

“It’s just going to be a matter of how do we incorporate them with skills they’re coming with, how do we integrate them into the community and show they can be productive members of society as well.”

The group may be made up of young professionals, but Groten said he thinks that can send a strong message.

“Global citizenship is becoming a thing that matters to people, whether it’s 20-year-olds, 30-year-olds or 40-year-olds. I think we’re just a small group that shows what it can be like to be a global citizen.”